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You reminded me of this website.A classic example is the time when a USN F4 Phantom of VF-14 launched with it's wings folded...
In that link, scroll down to "How slow can you go?" for an excellent account of SR-71 flying.You reminded me of this website.
My Wings Are What??
Any pilot, or ground crew, knows the importance of making sure that each item on a checklist is properly attended to. Unfortunately as professional as one wishes to be, we are all vulnerable to one basic and unavoidable truth…that no matter how experienced, and how attentive we are, mistakes...sierrahotel.net
I understand crashes happen, but they're a lot more expensive nowadays. 1944, write off your Spitfire via CFIT and the gov't is out about £8000, equal to about £300k (USD $377k) today. Ninety year later, write off your F-35 and the gov't is out about USD $90 million, equal to £1.9 million in 1944, which is a lot when an Illustrious class aircraft carrier cost £3.8 million. And then there's the replacement capacity. Lockheed-Martin can only make them so fast, and I assume the books are full of new orders, not counting for replacements. At least the F-35 pilot survived, as he's the priciest of all.ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A military fighter jet on its way to an Air Force base in California crashed Tuesday near the international airport in New Mexico's largest city, sending up a large plume of smoke and injuring the pilot. The pilot, the only person on board, was able to escape after crashing around 2 p.m. on a hillside on the south side of Albuquerque's airport and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, according to the city's fire department.
But accidents are also less likely these daysI understand crashes happen, but they're a lot more expensive nowadays. 1944, write off your Spitfire via CFIT and the gov't is out about £8000, equal to about £300k (equal to USD $377) today. Ninety year later, write off your F-35 and the gov't is out about USD $90 million.
She...I understand it was a female pilotAt least the F-35 pilot survived, as he's the priciest of all.
I understand the first RCAF F-35 is due in 2026. Not sure of exact IOC of first squadron though I believe it will be before the end of the decade as the CF-18s are due to cease operations in 2032.I expect here in Canada we won't have our first operational squadron of F-35s until the early-2030s. That'll be over fifty years since the CF-18 entered service in 1982. And lord help us when we CFIT or otherwise destroy one. We won't get another for years.
In that link, scroll down to "How slow can you go?" for an excellent account of SR-71 flying.
Maybe not... I think everyone's been told to step back in the queue.Some update info on UK procurement of the F-35:
"British F-35 fleet to increase to 74 aircraft by 2033"
Gotta say it like Michael Keaton, tho.Any one want to take bets on whether the pilot is going around saying "I am Batman" in a deep voice?
Any one want to take bets on whether the pilot is going around saying "I am Batman" in a deep voice?
Gotta say it like Michael Keaton, tho.
Sounds like the grumbles that resulted in a premature shutdown of the F-22 program. Meanwhile production of the F-15, F-16 and F-18 soldiers on. I think the Brits did themselves a disservice designing their Queen Elizabeth class with a reliance on STOVL. Though given the USMCs reliance on the F-35B, perhaps it's too big to fail now.Congress is moving closer to taking action to rein in the long-troubled F-35 program… Every single member with a piece of [the F-35] is starting to feel the heat for a program that is not only way overbudget,
Sounds like the grumbles that resulted in a premature shutdown of the F-22 program. Meanwhile production of the F-15, F-16 and F-18 soldiers on. I think the Brits did themselves a disservice designing their Queen Elizabeth class with a reliance on STOVL. Though given the USMCs reliance on the F-35B, perhaps it's too big to fail now.
One could argue that Britain would have been better off with four more Astute class instead of the QE carriers. If things go to hell and war is declared on Russia, it's below the surface where British war fighting expertise can have the most impact. Meanwhile the QEs will quickly be sunk.The original plan for the QEII carriers was that they could be configured either for STOVL or CATOBAR to enable the same vessel to be repurposed if, at some point in the future, a decision was made to stop STOVL and go conventional. That adaptability was axed as a cost-cutting measure.
So the F-35 is now bad again? That was quick. Or the press is just getting bored with Boeing? Inquiring minds want to know.
For an aircraft that first flew 17 years ago, the production rate does seem abysmal. Is the F-35 made of unobtanium ?It's not that the F-35 is bad. It's that Lockheed's supply-chain management is bad, and Congress is demanding them to be more responsive. That's fair game to my eyes.